Flying Lessons & Other Stories

“Flying Lessons” is told from the first-person perspective of the protagonist, Santosh. As the story begins, he is near the tail end of a three-week European vacation with his grandmother, Nani. At the outset of the trip, Santosh expects Nani to take him to museums and cultural spots. Instead, Nani orchestrates unconventional outings, and Santosh finds himself in many awkward and uncomfortable situations as a result.

In Barcelona, a few days before returning home, Santosh plans to go to the beach with Nani. That morning, she calls a Chanel store to order him a swimsuit. During this phone call, Santosh observes that she is already meticulously dressed and is quite demanding. Nani finishes the conversation by asking the clerk to say hello to a few people, indicating that she is someone of importance who can pull strings.

At the beach, Santosh wears a small red and white striped swimsuit, while Nani is outfitted in a couture dress, high heels, and a fur coat. She announces that she will not stay. When Santosh objects, she encourages him to make friends while she gets her hair done and meets someone for lunch. Nani declares that making friends is simple. As she turns away, Santosh screams that she is leaving him at a nude beach. Nani pauses to look at the beachgoers but dismisses the idea even though she sees that her grandson is correct.

When Nani returns four hours later, in different clothes and with a new hairstyle, Santosh is hiding by himself in a cave. Disappointed, she asks if he has been there the entire time. His response is that “all of this is pointless” (139), implying that both this excursion and the entire trip are a waste of his time. She agrees, noting that she should have just let him go in his underwear. They do not speak on the way back to the hotel.

At dinner, Santosh asks if Nani took his mother on a trip like this when she was younger. His grandmother notes that his mother, like Nani’s husband, prefers working. Nani complains that even though they both make a lot of money, they do nothing with it. Santosh pushes back and says that his grandfather lets her spend as much as she wants. Nani insists that money does not matter when a person is trapped. In this moment, Santosh does not recognize his grandmother.

Then, she calms down and asks about the beach, gently adding that by the time she returned, there were families and children everywhere, if only he had left the cave. When Santosh ignores this and asks to visit the Basilica Sagrada Familia with other tourists, Nani reveals why she brought him on this vacation: He wins too many awards. When he looks confused, she explains that awards are not important in life. Instead of quoting books, he should revel in his own adventures. Insulted, Santosh is angry. He thinks of the bullies at school and how he outshines them academically every year. This makes him feel like the cool kid, and he is disappointed and hurt that his grandmother does not view it the same way.

Nani perceives his emotions and gently explains that she loves seeing him succeed, but that he seems unhappy. Coldly, Santosh says he cannot wait to leave and go home. In response, she begs him to forget the books and awards and just enjoy the last few days in Spain. Weakly, he claims that Nani does not understand him, and they finish the meal in silence.

The following day, Santosh requests to return to the beach. Nani seems unsurprised and has already planned out her own excursions for the day. Santosh packs a book to read, but when Nani catches him, he takes it out of the bag. Yamila, a hotel worker, directs them to a more family-friendly beach. Before leaving him, Nani buys Santosh an ice cream cone, teasing him when he chooses vanilla from the list of exotic flavors.

Settled in a spot on the sand, Santosh notices that all the kids are having fun together. He is the only one alone, which is a reminder that everyone else makes friends easily. However, Santosh knows that if he were at a beach at home, he would be alone there too. He thinks, “It’s almost as if without knowing it, I made some deal with the devil: I can have all the success in the world, but no one will ever like me” (144). This thought saddens Santosh, and he wishes there were some way out.

As he prays to God for help, a small red ball pegs him painfully in the chest. Through tears, he sees a boy with a paddle run toward him, asking in Spanish if he is okay. Santosh is unable to respond because he is scared and cannot breathe. He thinks the stranger looks like Romeo from Shakespeare’s tragedy and guesses that he is only a couple years older.

The boy points to other kids with paddles down by the water and then realizes that Santosh is American. When Santosh mumbles that he is in pain, the boy laughs, thankful that he got a response. After realizing that Santosh is alone, the boy invites him to play.

Santosh calls the stranger Romeo in his head and reaches for the paddle when the boy’s friends call him back. His name is Tomas, and Santosh convinces himself that Tomas and the others do not actually want him to play. As a result, Santosh says adios to decline the offer. Instead of looking relieved, Tomas expresses disappointment before heading back to his friends.

Alone with his thoughts, Santosh berates himself for rejecting Tomas and for always doing this to himself. To cheer up, he thinks of his summer reading assignment and a science fair project and how both will surpass everyone else’s efforts. These thoughts only leave him feeling more upset.

Later, Santosh lies, telling Nani he met new friends and had fun at the beach. Surprised, she suggests he go back tomorrow. However, Santosh declines, noting that it is their last day of vacation, so he would like to do something different. Nani is silent.

That evening, instead of dining at a restaurant for dinner, Nani signs them up for a cooking class taught all in Spanish. Already tense from the challenge of cooking together, Santosh bristles when Nani asks for the names of the friends he made earlier. When he says he cannot remember, she peppers him with additional questions about the day, ultimately revealing that she knows he lied and is aware of exactly what happened. They finish the class in silence.

In the taxi on the way home, Nani reveals what happened. She felt badly about the day before, so she waited to leave until she knew that Santosh would be all right. She witnessed the whole exchange with Tomas, and she sat waiting for Santosh to move, but he only stared after the other boy. Santosh angrily claims that he was not staring. After some silence, Nani suggests that it is challenging for someone his age to distinguish between liking someone and wanting to be like that person.

The next morning, while Nani shops, Santosh claims he will read in the park. However, he goes to the beach instead and sits in the same spot, watching Tomas. Santosh hates that Tomas is sunbathing next to a blond girl.

As Santosh questions why he is even there, he hears Nani’s voice. Dressed in a swimsuit, she walks toward Tomas. When Santosh tries to stop her, she trips her grandson and continues walking until she pretends to faint just in front of the Spanish boy.

As Tomas props her up, he looks at Santosh confused. Nani continues to act weak and asks the girl to get her water. Once the girl, who turns out to be Tomas’s sister, leaves, Nani sits up and lets the boys talk. After introductions, they share facts about themselves in a mixture of Spanish and English for an hour, and somehow, they understand each other completely. When Tomas’s grandmother comes to retrieve him, he asks if Santosh will return tomorrow. Nani lies and says yes even though they will be leaving for home. Once Tomas departs, she tells Santosh that she lied because everyone needs something positive to be excited about.

When they are alone on the beach, Santosh nestles into his grandmother’s arms and asks if she will take him on another trip. She says it is actually he who has taken her on a journey. He connects with his grandmother in this moment, recognizing that they are both birds trapped in a cage. She encourages Santosh to try the green ice cream left by Tomas, and when he does, it is delicious. When he turns back to Nani, she is gone, as if she were a bird that took flight.